South Korea abandons plans to create Korean word for condom

BY admin

December 10 2004 1:00 AM ET

South Korea has dropped plans to replace the English word for condom with a Korean word after
people with identical or similar-sounding names complained. The Korean Anti-AIDS Federation said it
will shelve the use of ae-pil, which is derived from the Chinese characters for love and necessity. Ae-pil, picked from 19,000 suggestions sent in by the public, triggered complaints from many South Koreans with similar-sounding characters in their names, said federation official Kim Hoon-soo. "An old lady called to complain, saying she was worried about her grandson being teased due to her name being 'condom,'" said Kim. The federation promotes condom use in South Korea, where just 10% of people use condoms.